The Military Sealift Command joint high speed vessel USNS Millinocket (JHSV 3) arrived in Pohnpei, Federated States of Micronesia, June 21 for the ship’s second stop of Pacific Partnership 2015.

Millinocket and embarked Task Force Forager, led by an expeditionary command element from the Navy's 30th Naval Construction Regiment (30 NCR) from Port Hueneme, California, are currently serving as the secondary platform for Pacific Partnership 2015. The primary platform for the mission is the Military Sealift Command hospital ship USNS Mercy (T-AH 19).

"My crew and I are incredibly excited for our visit to the Federated States of Micronesia,” said Capt. James Meyer, Commodore, Task Force Forager. “We look forward to meeting with the national and local leaders and all the people of the community. Military and civilian leaders all agree it is necessary for us to work together to respond quickly and effectively to natural disasters. This mission helps build that ability while simultaneously providing medical, dental, veterinarian, engineering and civic assistance.”

Meyer added, “This mission is also about the exchange of ideas. Unlike previous missions that focused solely on direct care, PP15 is primarily focusing on knowledge exchange and all direct care is shoulder-to-shoulder with the host nation, in addition to some direct care. The intent is to impart knowledge and skills that will last well after the mission is over.”

Now in its tenth iteration, Pacific Partnership is the largest annual multilateral humanitarian assistance and disaster relief preparedness mission conducted in the Indo-Asia-Pacific Region. While training for crisis conditions, Pacific Partnership missions have provided medical care to approximately 270,000 patients and veterinary services to more than 38,000 animals. Additionally, the mission has provided critical infrastructure developments to host nations through the completion of more than 180 engineering projects.

Additional information on the Pacific Partnership mission is available on the U.S. Pacific Fleet Pacific Partnership website at www.cpf.navy.mil/pacific-partnership/2015/.